My review of the book:

There is too much space between the covers.

My review of the movie:

All the highlights of the book minus the lowlights.

Conclusion:

A bad book can make a good movie, especially if Ron Howard directs that movie.

King Cureslime is a great monster.

I hate those Lizard Knights that send my sword and shield flying, causing them to collide with allies/enemies and making the sword/shield disappear forever. There are a lot of them in "Asuka Kenzan!"

Why can't celebrity couples stay together?

Rapidshare never seems to have a free slot available these days.

You never know how great central air conditioning is until you're forced to get by without it.

Sasha Grey can't act.

Coke Zero tastes empty because it doesn't have a soul. Kind of like Sasha Grey's acting method, now that I think about it.

Bill Gates is an alright guy.

I'm running out of reasons to watch television.

Observations:

1) A possible alternate title for this game could have been: "Mac Guy and the Forgotten Treasure of Marco Polo."

2) Treasure hunters seem to fall into the same age range as the game's target demographic. They also dress really "hip" and mostly speak in sarcastic quips.

3) The opening scene with Drake on the train,... it's a rip off the falling trailer sequence from "Jurassic Park: The Lost World."

4) Cabana Scene: There sure are a lot of shots of people swigging.

5) Sexual tension between video game characters is dull. The rendering is sub-par, the sex scenes are acted out by C-list talent, and the writing is set to "auto-pilot."

VERDICT: If a studio produced an "Uncharted" movie, I wouldn't be there on opening day. Drake doesn't even have a smidgeon of the iconography or appeal of Lara Croft, much less the good Dr. Jones. He looks like someone who'd sooner raid an Apple Store than a tomb.

How fun is it? Well, let's say it often made me forget I was sitting very uncomfortably two rows from the screen. One of the movie's producers was Joel Silver, who was also a producer on "Lethal Weapon," and I couldn't help but get some vibes of that here: Sherlock is kind of like a Victorian-era "buddy" movie, where the chemistry between the two leads is key. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law play off each other brilliantly. If for nothing else, this movie's worth watching for the chemistry between these two actors.

There's other nice stuff too. The choreography in the action scenes is excellent, and the visceral editing is exhilirating. Hans Zimmer's score is suitably off-beat and kinetic. The villain is cool, and, without spoiling anything, let me just point out this movie is 100% loyal to the spirit of the original stories.

It wasn't exactly a great movie, but I had fun and it was surprisingly absorbing considering my predicament of being seated in front of the flipping screen. I say see it and have a blast, but make sure to line up outside the auditorium early.

Who gives a fuck? Why are developers and "game journalists" suddenly getting introspective on the use and depiction of violence in video games? The whole "decapitated head with spine attached" thing has been going on since the original "Mortal Kombat" in 1993. Too violent, you say? 99% of video games are built on mindless violence. If you're going to condemn AvP, then go the extra mile and condemn "Bayonetta" and "Final Fantasy XIII" too. Bayonetta even incorporates sadism as a gameplay gimmick, and openly!

"But it's a debate about aesthetics, taste and limits!"

...say the people who largely gave "Gears of War" a 10/10. Sorry, but no one's buying into your blatant effort to show that "gaming has grown up." If you're going to condemn a head on a spine, then you also have to condemn splattering head shots and face stomping. Can't have it both ways, kids.

Now they attach those stupid stickers directly onto the artwork, instead of over the clear plastic cover. It's like they're deliberately trying to piss their customers off now.

The above were words used by "Edge Magazine" to describe the new PSP role-playing game "Dragoneer's Aria." Pretty heavy descriptors for a game, don'tcha think?

The game is the latest overseas sensation that has finally crossed over.

Players are complaining about the dub, with no option to play the game in its native language.

There are accusations of inaccuracy in the localized script.

One controversial line change:

"Remember - No Russian." -> "Kill the Russians."

The game: Modern Warfare 2

Its destination: Japan

Our destination: The Twilight Zone (Cue ominous music.)

Game: Glory of Heracles II
Platform: Famicom
Crime: It's bad enough that bosses can break my hard-earned equipment, but when regular enemies do it? Screw you, game!

I have spent the last week playing and enjoying "Shiren the Wanderer," a roguelike for the Super Nintendo. It is an absolutely addicting game, but what sets it apart from others in the genre is its presentation. The graphics are wonderful and the sound design creates an absorbing ambience, but most of all Koichi Sugiyama's music is beautiful. I enjoyed it so much I downloaded the soundtrack.

So you might imagine my dismay as I browsed Koichi Sugiyama's Wikipedia article to discover that he is a right wing Japanese nationalist and a denier of the Nanking Massacre, among other questionable stances on the "Japanese Empire." He is open about this, going as far as attaching his signature to some advertisement called "The Facts."

Basically, such people are the Japanese equivalent of Holocaust deniers. I don't know if Sugiyama is unaware of the facts behind these events or if he chooses to ignore them, but either way his stance is despicable. All that fame and success, and he uses it to advance such a terrible agenda.

I don't really have a point to make here. I'm just reflecting on something I learned about. Maybe you've also had an idol that turned out to be a broken pedestal. Doesn't it suck like nothing else?